


There's Something You Should Know

by imma_redshirt



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Force Visions, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:33:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22554862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imma_redshirt/pseuds/imma_redshirt
Summary: A pair of children keep appearing and disappearing at seemingly random moments in Anakin's time as a Jedi, and they insist that Anakin is their father.Well. One of them does. The other doesn't seem to agree.Anakin knows that this is some doing of the Force, but with the war raging on, his faith in the Jedi Order failing, and his frustration growing, he's having a difficult time figuring out exactly what the Force is trying to tell him.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 25
Kudos: 341





	1. Camouflage

**Author's Note:**

> It's been 14 years since I last tried to write Star Wars fanfiction, and I _still_ only have a casual fan's knowledge of Star Wars lore. I'm mostly familiar with the original trilogy, and I've only just started watching the Clone Wars series, so if I make any like huge, glaring mistakes, please let me know! 
> 
> I know there have been fics like this before, but I wanted to take a crack at time traveling Skywalker twins who change the future, cause c'mon, these stories are just... really fun.
> 
> Each chapter will take place a little further down the timeline than the one before it, happening at different moment and events in Anakin's life before he becomes (or doesn't become? Maybe?) Darth Vader.

“Dad! _Dad!_ ”

Anakin opened one eye.

Lush foliage dappled in sunlight met him. They were the same leafy plants that he often sat by in the Gardens of Meditation, a circle of blue-green vegetation that was dense and high enough to hide him from the view of anyone who might walk past his little clearing. He had his back to the trunk of a low tree that sported leaves wider than his torso, and which provided cool shade from the light. Tiny blue flowers with little golden specks hung down near his shoulder like the strings of turquoise beads Padmé sometimes draped over her curls. Behind him was the trickle of a fountain, and further away he could hear the sounds of the nearby pond, where he knew Ahsoka was doing some meditation of her own.

Other than that, there was silence. The Force was calm, the serenity of meditating Jedi throughout the Gardens surrounding him.

Anakin frowned. The voice that had interrupted his already shaky meditation must have been a Youngling acting out during a visit to the Gardens with Master Yoda, which was nothing they could be faulted for. Still, Anakin felt a flash of irritation at the interruption. For the past few weeks, he’d been having trouble meditating and clearing his mind. And before the Youngling had disturbed the tranquility of the Gardens, Anakin had thought he’d been managing better than his last few attempts. 

… marginally, anyway. But progress was progress. 

Anakin shut his eye, took a deep breath, and exhaled. It had been such a brief interruption. Insignificant, really, and there was never really any reason to feel irritated with a Youngling. They were learning. 

Allowing the memory of the interruption to slip to the back of his mind, Anakin focused on his breathing. He took a slow breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled, and relaxed his tense shoulders. Listened to the stillness of the leaves around him, the gentle sounds of the pond. Felt the coolness of the grass beneath his folded legs, and allowed the Force to--

“Dad, help!”

Anakin jumped to his feet. This time the voice was closer, accompanied by the ruffling of nearby leaves and a flash of alarm in the Force. Anakin could hear a breathless panic in the plea for help. There shouldn’t be any reason for a Youngling to be in danger in the Temple, much less the Gardens--the child of a visiting politician then, Anakin thought, lost and searching for their father. But even then, a child who wasn’t a Youngling shouldn’t have made it this far into the Temple.

Anakin began to move forward, and reached out with the Force--

Then a kid tumbled into the clearing and fell flat on his face right in front of him. 

“Whoa there,” Anakin said, reaching down to help the boy up. “Are you--”

“I’m okay,” the kid said, breathless, and scrambled to his feet before Anakin could reach him. He dusted himself off and looked up with a smile. “I’m okay!”

Though he looked to be about the right age of one, the boy wasn’t dressed in the neutral robes that were required of Younglings. Leaves and little flowers were stuck in his blond hair and grass had clung to the front of his pale tunic which, Anakin noticed, had dirt stains that betrayed the fact the boy had fallen in the dirt more than once. Blue eyed and _just_ tall enough to reach Anakin’s waist, the kid smiled brightly up at him, and Anakin thought he looked familiar somehow. He tried to connect the kid’s facial features to anyone he knew, but the boy spoke up quickly.

“Alright,” he said, as Anakin watched him still try in vain to pat dust from his clothes. “I’m almost winning, but you have to help me!” He paused and then added as if just remembering, "Please, dad?"

“Dad?” Anakin repeated. He blinked and held out one hand in the universal sign of ‘hold on a minute’ and said calmly, “I’m sorry, are you lost? Is your dad visiting the Temple, or--”

The kid groaned and rolled his eyes, and Anakin felt a wave of fond exasperation aimed at him as the boy said, “We don’t have time to play Forgetful Dad right now! Leia’s almost found me three times already.”

“Leia?” 

With a defeated sigh, the kid threw his arms in the air. “Dad! I already said we don’t have time for Forgetful Dad, you have to help me _hide_ \--”

“From this Leia,” Anakin clarified, and the boy gave an overdramatic, relieved nod. 

“ _Yes._ If she finds me before dinner, she gets to pick what to play next.” He paused and sighed. “ _Again._ ”

Anakin frowned and crossed his arms--then uncrossed them before he felt too much like a chiding Obi-Wan. Instead, he pointed one finger at the kid, who looked on in bemusement. 

“The Gardens are not for play,” he said. He wasn’t sure how a child who wasn’t training as a Youngling had made his way into the Gardens to play with whoever this Leia was, but if it was a security issue, it would have to be addressed immediately. “I’ll help you find your father, but we’ll have to leave now.” He tucked his hands into opposite sleeves in front of him, adopting the classic image of a sage Jedi Knight, and said in a tone he thought was both firm and mild enough as to not frighten the child but display just enough authority, “I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t be here.”

The boy didn’t seem to be the least bit repetent. Instead, he blinked blue eyes that were somehow so familiar to Anakin and furrowed his brow in confusion. “Why not? Why shouldn’t I be with my dad?”

Anakin opened his mouth and then closed it and narrowed his eyes. Again, the boy had referred to him as “dad.” Anakin had never been accused of looking like anyone else, and it was strange enough that a kid could mistake him for his own father. 

Instead of answering the boy’s question, Anakin said, “You know, it’s polite to introduce yourself to new people.”

“You’re not new though,” the boy said as brightly as ever. “You’re kinda old, dad--”

“What’s your name,” Anakin interrupted, not entirely sure whether or not he should be insulted (or at least insulted on the absent father’s behalf.) 

“You really wanna play Forgetful Dad that much?” The kid sighed. “Okay. I’m _Luke_. I’m your _son._ And--oh!” He looked up over Anakin’s head. “I can use a leaf as a cape!”

And with an outstretched hand, the boy--Luke--closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and used the Force to pluck a wide, blue-green leaf from right over Anakin’s shoulder. Anakin watched the leaf float leisurely towards him. So, the boy didn't seem to be a Youngling, but he was Force sensitive and, apparently, had at least a basic understanding in the usage of the Force. Luke, who still had his eyes closed and was reaching for the leaf, didn’t react when Anakin shut his own eyes and let the Force flow through him.

It took only a moment--a heartbeat--for Anakin to find Luke’s signature in the Force. His presence was bright and warm and achingly _familiar_ and Anakin felt himself take a trembling breath, the impossibility of it all almost too much. The events of the past few days were promptly but momentarily swept away by the realization that this child, Force sensitive but not under tutelage of the Order, rendered a presence in the Force with such familiarity that Anakin was reminded suddenly of his mother. 

The Force was strong with him, and he was strong in the Force, a bright, bubbly spot in the otherwise tranquil blanket that laid over the Gardens. When Anakin opened his eyes to stare at him, Luke stared back with the same bright smile, and without an ounce of fear. Waves of comfort and joy and a profound sense of _love_ surrounded him, and Anakin was frozen with indecision.

He didn’t have the time to make a decision, anyway.

Luke tugged the broad leaf around his shoulders, dislodging some leaves from his tunic, and aimed another smile at Anakin. “I have to go before she finds me. Don’t tell her I was here!”

“Wait,” Anakin said, but with a quick nod, Luke crouched, whispered “I’m camouflaged, you can’t see me, Leia,” and sprinted into the dense foliage at the edge of the clearing.

“Luke!” Anakin called. The bright spot in the the Force was fading, and as Anakin belatedly wondered at the fact that he hadn’t sensed Luke’s presence before he heard him, he took off after the child whose Force signature felt so much like family.

Less than ten long strides into the Garden, and Anakin found himself staring at the pond. Ahsoka sat on the shore where he’d last seen her, but she wasn’t meditating--she was staring at him, concern clear on her face and in the Force as she stood.

“Are you alright?” She asked. Behind her, the pond was as serene as ever. The Garden around it was green and quiet and bathed in light, and on the opposite shore, a Jedi and her padawan settled on a patch of tall grass to meditate.

Luke was nowhere in sight.

“Did a boy run through here?” Anakin asked. 

Ahsoka frowned and glanced about. “Um. No? It’s been pretty quiet here, I haven’t seen anyone else for a while--”

“No one? At all?” 

“No,” she said. She stepped closer and touched his arm, still frowning, concern growing as Anakin began to scan the foliage for a boy wearing a giant leaf on his back. “You look _really_ pale, Skyguy. What’s wrong? Did the Force send you a vision, or--?”

“I don’t know,” Anakin said. “I don’t know.”

He shut his eyes and reached forward with the Force as his padawan watched in confusion.

He couldn’t find Luke’s presence. 

After appearing so suddenly, the boy had simply disappeared.

Anakin had expected to experience some trouble while trying to meditate, but he hadn’t expected anything like _this._


	2. Not the Daddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really have a good excuse for taking so long to update. I do have an ending planned, just gotta navigate through plot holes and expositions to get there!

Somewhere in the Gardens, a meditating Jedi was feeling utterly at peace. Eased into a meditative state by their quaint surroundings, they had released all their current frustrations into the Force and allowed the Force itself to flow through them like a steady, soothing stream of harmony. They were calm. Serene. Tranquility personified. Not at all worried about strange kids running around the Gardens accusing confused Jedi of parentage.

That Jedi was not Anakin Skywalker.

That Jedi was actually as far as possible from being anywhere near similar to Anakin Skywalker at the moment.

“So, he wasn’t a Youngling.”

Anakin shoved aside a tangle of flowering vines that grew over the foliage where the boy had disappeared into and frowned at the empty spot beneath it. “No.”

“And he wasn’t a Padawan?”

“Nope,” Anakin said. He peered out over the foliage around him and across the pond, but there was only that same Master and Padawan meditating in the patch of tall grass. Frustration was building in his chest, and not for the first time, Anakin wished he was that metaphorical Jedi that was utterly at peace. “Way too young.”

“But he was Force sensitive?”

“Definitely.”

A pause.

“... and he thought you were his father?”

Anakin turned away from the edge of the clearing and shrugged one shoulder at his Padawan. “He seemed adamant about it.”

Ahsoka frowned. “You’re _sure_ he wasn’t a Youngling? Maybe he was playing a game.”

“He was dressed in civilian clothing,” Anakin said. “And a Youngling would know better than to play games in the Gardens. This is a place for meditation, not for Hide and Seek.”

“True,” Ahsoka said thoughtfully. “It _would_ be a great place to play Hide and Seek, though.”

Anakin wasn’t going to argue with that. There were countless little crevices and shaded areas where a kid could hide from prying eyes, and if Luke didn’t want to be found, there was a good chance he wouldn’t be--especially since his Force signature seemed to have just vanished.

That was another issue that Anakin didn’t know what to do with. The kid’s presence in the Force had been so strong before simply ceasing to exist, and now that it was gone, the Force almost felt… empty.

Anakin frowned. It was a strange thing to think of the Force as being empty, but without Luke’s glowing Force signature, it was the best description Anakin could find at the moment. His bonds with Ahsoka and Obi-Wan were the closest he could come to familial connections since his mother was killed, but the kid’s presence in the Force had felt just as familiar--if not more so, which, again, was strange. He didn’t know the boy. But the boy had known him--or at least thought he did.

“Master?” Ahsoka said, and Anakin realized he’d been silently staring at the tree that Luke had taken a leaf from. He turned to her and she continued hesitantly, “ _Could_ he have been a Force vision?”

“Maybe,” Anakin said. He sighed and looked out over the Gardens, frowning. “I don’t know, Snips. I’ve had visions from the Force before, and none of them have been as _real_ as this kid Luke was.”

“His name was Luke?”

Anakin turned to Ahsoka again. “I didn’t mention that?”

“No,” Ahsoka said. “Maybe we can check the Temple’s visitor logs for that name, or maybe even Coruscant’s Missing Children database?”

“We could,” Anakin said. “I’m not sure we’ll find anything, but it’s the best course of action we have right now.”

Luke had been happy and carefree, which was hardly the attitude Anakin thought a lost child would have. Though, if he’d thought that Anakin was his father, maybe he didn’t think he’d had a reason to be scared or worried. Besides, checking if he was lost or the son of visitors was better than standing around in the Gardens, frowning at leaves and wondering if the Force was sending him cryptic visions.

With a slow sigh, he closed his eyes and tried one last time to find that flare of light and warmth in the Force. But once again, there was nothing. Nothing but Jedi and Padawans meditating, the Gardens aglow with tranquility and peace.

But there was another familiar Force signature nearby, and getting nearer. Anakin hummed and opened his eyes, looking around the small clearing with a smirk.

"You know, this _would_ be a good place for hide and seek," Anakin said. "I could hide from Obi-wan for days in here."

"Oh?" Obi-wan said, appearing from behind the tree with a raised eyebrow. "And what purpose would that serve, exactly?"

“Well,” Anakin said as his former Master joined them in the clearing. “I could avoid being dragged to a planet _crawling_ with snooty dignitaries.”

“ _Well,_ my friend,” Obi-Wan said, “Unfortunately for you, your frustration is quite prevalent in the Force at the moment. It’s like a beacon. A Youngling could find you from five floors down, and you’re _going_ on that mission with me.” He gave Anakin a considering look. “But that won’t be for some time. What happened in here? Something’s troubling you.”

“A little boy thinks Master Anakin’s his father,” Ahsoka said before Anakin could answer. She was smiling, almost as if the situation was suddenly funny instead of really weird and frustrating, and Anakin sighed.

“What?” Obi-Wan said. “ _You?_ Why?”

Anakin scoffed. He wasn’t sure why, but he was slightly offended. Which was weird. Why would he be offended? He definitely wasn’t a father. It wasn’t something he’d ever thought about, and he didn’t _think_ Padmé had, either.

Had she?

"Was it a Youngling?" Obi-Wan asked.

"We're... not really sure," Ahsoka said, and they both turned to Anakin, who suddenly realized he didn't know if his wife wanted children.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, pulling Anakin out of his stunned and slightly worried thoughts. “Are you going to tell me what happened, or am I going to have to threaten to take you to a week’s worth of banquets full of snooty dignitaries to get anything out of you?”

“I’ll tell you everything on the way,” Anakin said. Without another word, he and Ahsoka began walking towards the hall that lead back into the Temple. 

Obi-Wan followed after a second of staring at them with his trademark Quirked Eyebrow. “And where are we going?”

“To check the visitor logs,” Ahsoka said, and Anakin added, “And then Coruscant’s Missing Children database.”

“Ah,” Obi-Wan said. “To find the boy who thinks _Anakin_ is his father.”

“What’s with the tone?” Anakin asked when Obi-Wan reached his side. 

“Tone? I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Obi-Wan said. “And, I would like to add to your previous comment--you could not hide from me for days. An hour or two, perhaps.”

“A week, _at least,_ ” Anakin said, and then jumped right into recounting his strange experience before Obi-Wan could bite off a retort.

\-------------

A month later, Anakin strode down the same path, frowning at the bright green grass beneath his boots.

The artificial lights in the Gardens had been lowered to mimic the gentle glow of twilight. Outside the Temple, night had fallen hours ago, but Anakin was still wide awake. He’d visited the Gardens to once again try to meditate.

And, once again, he’d failed.

This time, the boy who called himself Luke hadn’t shown up and accused him of parenthood. Anakin wasn’t sure if that was fortunate or unfortunate, as he wasn’t in the mood to decipher cryptic Force visions, but… well, he’d also hoped to study the kid’s strange Force signature.

He needed to know why he had felt like family.

The day Luke had shown up, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had gone with Anakin to check the visitor logs and Coruscant’s Missing Children Database, but they’d found nothing matching Luke’s exact description. Anakin had looked through countless holos of missing children, and aside from the frustration of seeing so many children lost and separated from their families, he’d only been left confused. He hadn’t seen Luke’s face at all. 

It _had_ been something to do with the Force. It had to be. Even if the kid had been familiar with using the Force and had used shields to hide his presence, he couldn’t have just disappeared so quickly. Other Jedi had even been notified and had kept an eye out for a little boy in civilian clothing running around, but there had been nothing in the month since the incident.

Only recently had the Force stopped feeling _empty._ The kid’s presence had had such a profound effect on him that Obi-Wan had suggested visiting the Temple healers or speaking to Yoda. 

Anakin had declined. He hadn’t even told Padmé. This wasn’t something that he needed to worry her with. And it wasn’t something that everyone needed to know about. It wasn’t even harmful, just… strange.

And lonely.

Anakin’s step faltered and he paused next to a wall of flowering vines. Lonely. Where had that come from? 

But before he could ruminate further on the strange new thought, a warning flashed at him in the Force.

Someone was about to attack.

“ _Rawr!_ ”

With a tiny roar, a child leaped from behind the wall of vines and latched onto his leg like a tiny Mairan hatchling. Anakin stumbled back a step, scowling down at the little brown haired girl who turned her face up to him with a triumphant laugh.

“I caught you!” She said. “I caught you, Dad! I caught you first! And _I_ get to choose the game _again,_ and Luke--”

She froze and stared up at Anakin with the same shocked expression he was sure was on his own face.

For a moment that was all either of them did. They stared at each other, confusion growing in the girl’s eyes and understanding in Anakin’s. Then, sticking his leg out so he could get a better look at her face, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Let me guess--Leia, right?”

“No!” She snapped, and then toppled backwards onto the ground. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” Anakin said. “I’m not angry or anything, I just--are you looking for your father, too?”

She muttered something under her breath as she stood and dusted her green tunic off. She was the same height as Luke had been, and was likely the same age. Her brown hair was just long enough to form two complicated braids that wound about her head like a crown, and the same little blue flowers that had been strewn about in Luke’s hair were tucked into the girl’s braids. 

And when she looked up at him, it wasn’t the same cheerful expression as Luke’s.

She _glared._

“Okay, calm down,” he said, holding his palms out placatingly. “I just have a few questions, and we can help you find your--”

“You’renotourdaddy,” the girl said in a rush. 

Anakin paused. He frowned. “What?”

“I _said,_ ” the girl repeated, slowly as if Anakin didn’t understand Basic. “You’re _not_ our _Daddy_.” 

If these kids _were_ some Force vision, then the Force was definitely working hard to make everything more confusing. Crossing his arms, Anakin decided to treat this as if it was a lost child incident--if the Force wanted to tell him something, it better try being a lot clearer about things before Anakin ignored it completely.

“Now, that’s what I told your… brother?” He hazarded a guess. When Leia’s scowl deepened, he continued, “Brother. Right. You and your brother need to know that this isn’t a place for games--”

But instead of listening and admitting that yes, she and her brother had snuck into the Temple to play ridiculous games, she did something completely out of the blue.

She kicked him.

“Ow,” Anakin said, surprised, and leaned away when she balled her fists and glared up at him again.

She wasn’t just angry, Anakin realized--she was frightened.

She didn’t give him time to think on it. With another swift kick to his shin, she snapped, “You’re _not_ our _Daddy_!”

“I _didn’t_ say I _was_ \--hey!” Anakin stepped back when the kid aimed another kick at his leg. “I’m trying to help--”

“Leia!” 

With a start, Anakin looked up. There, stumbling out from behind a low bush, was the boy that almost the entire Order of Jedi had been searching for, who had been like a tiny blazing sun in the Force, and who had made the Force feel akin to an abyss of loneliness.

“I’ve been hiding forever!” Luke said as he jogged over to them. “You’re supposed to be finding _me_ , not attacking Dad!”

Anakin stared. It was as if a month hadn’t passed. The boy wore the same tunic, had the same grass stains and little flowers, and the same large leaf was still wrapped around his shoulders. And when he looked up at Anakin, it was with that same bright smile.

“Dad, you look funny,” he said.

“He’s not our Dad, Luke!” Leia said, snapping Anakin out of his shock.

“Yeah he is,” Luke said back. He sounded just as confused as Anakin felt.

“No he’s _not_ \--”

“Uh, Leia, look at his face--”

“Exactly! Look at it! That’s not Daddy!”

“Stop it, Leia!”

“ _You_ stop it, Luke!”

They argued. Anakin could have stepped in, lifted them with the Force and taken them to the Council. Whether they were strange Force visions or petulant children sneaking around, the Council would finally settle the matter for good.

Instead, he closed his eyes.

The Force surrounded him, and he was prepared to once again feel the lonely emptiness--but there they were. Two signatures, Luke and Leia, bright and warm and strange but _familiar_. Anakin’s breath stuttered and he was almost dizzy with the sudden sensation of love, bonds that were so different than his bonds with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and even his mother, but somehow so similar that he _knew_ they were family.

And then he felt their fear. And confusion. 

He opened his eyes just in time to see Leia sprinting back behind the wall, her little hand gripping Luke’s as they went and shouting, “We’re leaving!”

“But Leia--!” Were Luke’s last words before they disappeared, _again._

“Wait,” Anakin breathed. He followed their steps, but the small alcove behind the wall was empty.

“Luke!” He called. “Leia!”

They didn’t answer. There was only the silence and peace of the Gardens, and when Anakin shut his eyes and searched for their presence, there was nothing.

He breathed, and slowly sank to the ground. 

The Force didn’t have a sense of humor. He knew that. But he couldn’t help but feel that something out there was playing a cruel joke on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
